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2015-10-30 - Father and Daughter-ish
Mia shivers as she flies, hoping to find a good private coffee shop or something. "You can stop looking at me like that, Superman. Kal, I mean. Sorry. I mean...I screwed that up and I know it. I'm sorry. Sorry." As Mia and Clark fly away from the area of the press conference, he makes a motion to Mia to hold up for a moment. As they float high above the city, Clark cross his arms over his chest. "You did great at the press conference, Mia. It's just that..." He frowns as if unsure how to breach the subject. "..your choice of outfits..is..I mean..are you going to wear that from now on?" Mia wraps herself in her cape. Surprisingly, it's easily long enough to do that and still hang loosely. Makes for an interesting sight on a flying human. "I'm sorry?" She starts with that, openly blushing as she covers herself up. Then sighs. "Look, I got it before I met you. The outfit I mean. I was trying desperately to find a way to keep people from looking too much at my face, so I wouldn't get my family killed. So happens I kind of hate this suit, but it does keep people's eyes...y'know, away." Kal sighs. "It does at that." He frowns slightly. "Listen..I'm not trying to tell you what to do. But can I give you some advice?" He motions to the outfit. "Yes, it keeps people from looking at your face, and it makes them focus on your other...attributes, but at the same time it sort of cheapens you a bit. If you want the world to take you seriously...and not fixate on you as a sex symbol." Which was likely to happen anyway, just ask Kara and Karen. "...I suggest you stick with the outfit you had before. It was tasteful, and personally I thought that it sent the right message." He holds up a hand. "I know Karen dresses differently. And she's paying the price for it with the extra attention that she gets. But are you sure you want to go that route?" He points at his face. "Let me teach you a small technique I use. I call it face blurring. When someone takes your picture, shift the muscles in your face slightly so that they're in flux. People will recognize you from the outfit, but it'll be tough for them to pick out details of your face. I don't rely solely on the glasses, you know?" Mia looks at Kal, keeping herself wrapped up in her long blue cape. She frowns, thinking, then says, "That's kind of brilliant," as she goes over the thing in her head. "I don't know how to DO it, but it's a start. Wish we'd mentioned it before I'd gone on camera just now. Can you teach me how to do that?" Also in her head, she's berating herself for the outfit. Hard. And crying just a little. Stupid, stupid. "I won't wear this if I don't have to. That's me, setting women's rights back fifty freaking years." Kal smiles and floats closer. "It's alright, Mia. Though that outfit is probably going to circulate on the net for a long while." He waves a hand. "But really it's what you do now that's going to define your hero career. I'll be more than happy to teach you. I had to learn fine muscle control when my powers kicked in." If he didn't, he'd kill Lois every time they were intimate with each other. "I wouldn't necessarily call it a power as much as a skill though. It's something every Kryptonian is capable of, if they work at it." Mia wonders how effective it'll be. Luckily, nearly every photo of her from today's session is nearly guaranteed to only include her face in a peripheral way. Her choice of outfits will see to that. "Seriously, though. It is...a bit of a rush. Feeling sexy." She says that last really quietly. Not sure she's comfortable with the idea. "I've never felt attractive before. I mean, not that I want it like THAT, with everyone and their billion twitter followers staring at my ass, but I mean, if I've ...I mean...I have no idea what I'm trying to say." She stares ahead a she flies, having forgotten all about the coffee shop. Then smiles. "They thought that Kara was my mom." Kal chuckles. "You're a gorgeous girl, Mia. And other people notice that. And they'll notice it without the provocative wear. Of course, I have my own twitter followers, even though I don't tweet?" He looks a little confused by the lingo. "The point is, I've had thousands of women swoon over me..much to the ire of my wife. However, as long as you conduct yourself accordingly your reputation will remind intact. Understand what I mean?" He chuckles. "Yes, I thought that was a bit hilarious, too." Giving an answering grin, Mia smiles gently at the thought of Kara being in any way a mom. Well...maybe someday. "Tell me seriously, if I'd only ever worn that other outfit? Someone would have seen me in my brown sweater and jeans and went, hey! That girl acts like Cir-El! You know, I already have aliens threatening my family. I mean, last month? I had this guy in a coffee shop turn green and say he knew where I lived. I got a little protective of them." She's waving her hands around a lot, expressively. Kal lets out a soft breath. "When I first decided to come out to the world as Superman, I had the same concerns that you have now. And despite how careful I was, sometimes my parents got in the line of fire. Nothing is infallible, however I continue to try to do my best to keep as much distance between Clark Kent and Superman as possible. It's not always easy, and a few of my enemies have figured out my identity. Luckily for me, they don't really care about it much. But I deal with it one day at a time. Sometimes I worry that people will find out, but mostly that is just my own insecurity." He places a hand on her shoulder. "Just give it some time, Mia. And try not to worry so much. Eventually, it will become easier. You've noticed that when I'm Clark my entire demeanor changes. You'll learn how to do that in time." Mia snickers. She grins at something Kal said, then wraps herself in her cape just-so, like an actual dress. She pauses in the air, letting it hang on her, and pinches the waist so she actually looks like a normal person for a moment. Then she rubs her heels together embarrasedly and looks down at her feet, saying, "Um. Sorry sir, I'll get you...I mean...that book mumblemumble..." and her voice trails off to silence. Her bangs hide her eyes almost completely, and you can almost picture her running and hiding to cry in the corner of a library. Then her head perks just a little, one eye peeking out. "This is me, most times. You have any idea how hard it is to look you in the face, Superman? To call you by your first name? Oh my god, dude." Kal laughs. "That's pretty good. But you realize that I'm just a guy like everyone else right?" He smiles. "Let me let you in on a little secret. I AM Clark Kent. I was raised on a farm in Kansas, I went to college. I majored in Journalism, got my job at the Daily Planet, and married the girl of my dreams. I go to football games with Conner. I have lunch with Bruce Wayne a couple times a week. I play golf with Perry White and Jimmy Olson. That is the real me." He pauses. "Superman represents what I'm capable of. My desire to help all of mankind and protect my adoptive homeworld. I would be miserable if I had to pick only one of those aspects of my personality. If that helps any?" Mia has a little, lame, tired smile. But she IS looking and listening. She's just not really comfortable with it. Yet. It takes time to grow out of that. "I can understand. Honest. I've read enough comic books to know how it is." She sighs, realizing that she's saying it, but not really believing it. "I have been thinking though. Maybe.." and she trails off, not sure she wants to say this one. Kal raises his brows slightly at her hesitation. "Thinking what? Come on, I promise not to judge." He offers her a reassuring smile. Mia takes a breath, closes her eyes, then starts to fly again. Kal can keep up. easily. she's slow by their standards. Looking straight ahead, not at Kal, she says, "Maybe I'm the perfect person for this. I know, it's dumb. But maybe what we really needed isn't a Supergirl. Or a Superman." She turns, looking at Kal, and blushes when she realizes who she's saying it to. But forges on. "Maybe, I think, your mileage may vary...maybe we needed someone who really knows what it's like to be weak and small and...basically a normal little girl. Afraid of everything. So one of us understands, deep down, when we're protecting someone who's weak. It's important. And I'm NOT going to shut up about women's rights. Someone needs to fix that broken god damn system." Kal considers Mia's words for a long moment. "I don't think you're wrong. In fact, I can't really argue with that logic. Part of the problem that I've had in the past is that sometimes I can't connect with the people I protect on an emotional level." He flies along beside her. "If that's how you feel, then I think you should work hard to become that person." He is silent for a moment. "You know I quit being Superman for awhile. I thought the world was better off without me. That it didn't /need/ me anymore." He looks off to the side. "I don't know though. I came back because I felt like it was the wrong thing to do." He looks over at Mia. "What do you think?" "I remember," Mia says. All pretense of her being Cir-El is gone at this point. She's wishing she had pants, but the cape is good enough for now. "My dad was worried about you. I was kinda young; I thought you'd left us forever." Glancing to Superman, she smiles a bit. "Given the fact that you and Kara's enemies tried to kill me when you were both away, I don't think it's really feasible to just leave anymore, no. They're already attracted here. With or without you, that's reality now. And besides...you're a symbol. That's why they come. And why we care." "Superman isn't a hero. He's the one who will never stop. Who'll never give up on you. And if he's there, you can't give up either. Because if he hasn't given up on you yet, there's still hope. No matter how bad it gets, there's hope. That's what we lose, when you go." She really does understand. Kal smiles warmly, shoving down the inclination to wrap the girl up in a hug. He's gotta stop doing that. It was probably embarassing for her. "Thanks for that. I know at one point Batman told me the same thing, but it just means more coming from you." He nods. "I never stop because I deeply believe that everyone deserves a chance at happiness. Also, I believe that someday I won't be needed. But that time is a long, long way off. Mia spots a place where she can change. She blushes, and then suddenly Kal finds her hugging him. Not for long, she's gone almost as fast, heading for a place where she can get back into her far more comfortable persona. But the warm place where she was still lingers, and the look on her face when she did so. With her eyes open.